I’m new to gardening and tried growing butterbush squash this year. They were doing well until a few weeks ago when I noticed they stopped growing, pretty sure the vines have died. Can I still eat these ones that didn’t grow to their full size? The smallest one weighs about 300g, the two larger ones also under 1kg.
by bubblebathandcookies
7 Comments
Why do people ask if food is “safe”? I see this often.
Yes you can eat smaller butternuts, I have bought them from a local veg shop, small, huge, in between. Quite liked the small ones actually, fresh longer as you are not storing cut ones. They were delcious.
Yes, mine for the last two years have been small and like oversized pears. When I ate them last year, they were fine, just unusual looking.
Your vines look fine. It’s normal for them to turn color like this when they’re pouring energy into the fruit. You can leave them on the vine until the vine itself dries out completely or if the fruit is starting to get soft (in which case, it’s overripe). They’re probably still growing but at a slower rate now that temps are falling.
These look great. The first two with the characteristic butternut shape could be eaten now but they can also stay on the vine until it dries up more, and they will ripen a bit more and the flavor might improve slightly. The smallest one looks to me like it could use a bit more time to have the best flavor (safe to eat, just maybe a bit under ripe). Butternut is ripe when it has developed its cream color and the stem starts to dry and get woody.
At least it isn’t acorn squash the size of apples….thanks for the seeds ferry morse….
Most winter squashes can be eaten as summer squashes when immature. I do this with spaghetti squash – eat the young tender ones like zucchini. I don’t see why you couldn’t do the same with butternuts.
They look great, nice job! Enjoy!